Save Me
by muggleborn.dragon.ryder
Summary: A malicious bully named Snotlout, a huge crush on Astrid Hofferson and a mysterious Night Fury in the woods? Hiccup is sure to have his hands full during his first year of high school! Modern AU. Unnamed OCs. Rated T for mild abuse, mild substance abuse and mild language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! I've been writing for a few years and decided to post a fanfiction of mine on here! :-) I hope you all like it!**

* * *

I reluctantly start to walk into Berk High School.

My first day and I'm terrified.

I don't know anyone and the bullying in elementary school got so bad my mom had to pull me out of it and teach me at home for the rest of the year.

I still remember that year. I shudder as I think about it, then hitch my backpack a little higher on my shoulder and walk into the school.

The floor is green-and-white checkerboard tiles, the walls a plain white.

"Please," I whisper to myself. "Please let me have a good year this year. Please don't let me get bullied or laughed at this year. I just want to be normal. Can I be normal?"

But I know the answer to that question: No, I can't be.

I know I can't be normal.

But people like them – well, they wouldn't understand.

No one understands. No one gets it, they all think I'm stupid and useless.

I sigh and go to the principal's office. I figure I'll be spending a lot of time there this year. Somehow, I always get blamed for the incidents that happen around me.

It's not my fault. Really, it's not. I just get into so much trouble all the time.

The receptionist hands me a schedule and a few other papers, which I stuff into my backpack and walk out of the office, then grab my schedule and walk to my first class, which is English.

I take my seat where I normally do – the back of the class. It makes it harder for them to laugh at me.

I crouch over my desk and the other students walk in at their leisure, chatting contentedly.

The teacher isn't here yet, which explains all the milling around.

Friends are excitedly telling each other about their summers while I sit in the back of the class, feeling miserable.

I really don't mind schoolwork. But I don't like having to face all these people.

I sigh, just as the teacher comes in.

"Alright!" he says, snapping his fingers. "Quiet down, class, quiet down!"

He welcomes us all into his class and then says, "Now, I'd like you all to write an essay on what you did this summer."

With another deep sigh, I slide my hand into my backpack, pull out a blank notebook and begin to write.

The sound of pens scratching is the only one in the room and I lose myself in the peace.

There's never quiet at home. Not like this. Not unless Dad isn't there.

I close my eyes at the thought of my father. Then I open them again and resume writing.

When we're done, the teacher (his name was…Gobber, I think?) said cheerfully, "Alright, then, you first, young lady…"

Then she steps up to the front of the room and takes a breath to read.

I just stare at her. I'm totally unaware of everything that's happening all around me. All I know is that she is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen.

Her golden hair is tied back in a braid and she has a clear, sweet voice.

She finishes reading and takes her seat again.

"Thank you, Astrid," Gobber says as the girl takes her seat. "So…c'mon, who'll be next?"

A few people later, he says brightly, "So…how about…you, uh…" he glances down to check the roll. "Hiccup!"

I glance up in shock. Me? I was actually banking on the fact that Gobber wouldn't have time for us all.

Gobber just keeps staring at me, smiling encouragingly.

I stand up, not even bothering to walk to the front of the room. My essay's only a few lines.

"I didn't go to any far-off places this summer," I tell him, not even looking at the rest of the class. I wouldn't be able to speak if that happened. "I didn't have any amazing adventures, I didn't even go to the beach."

I don't need my essay. I can quote that thing. "I just stayed in my house. My pretty much empty-all-the-time house."

I sit back down angrily. Stupid people wanting to pry into my life.

I glare at the blackboard, waiting for Gobber to say something.

Finally, he says, "That…was…um…very…good, Hiccup." Then he quickly turns to the next naïve sap and I tune out again.

When class is over, I grab up my books and walk out of the classroom.

I can hear students milling about behind and beside me, but I don't look up.

No one's talking to me, I'm sure of it.

When I get home, I see there are no lights on.

I let out a silent breath of relief and flicked on the living room light. I'm glad Dad isn't here.

Then again, he's probably at the bar, drinking himself into a stupor.

I sigh and glare at nothing, at everything and go up to my room to start on my homework.

When I'm finished, I find I'm starving so I look in the freezer for the TV dinner I know I bought a few days ago.

I pop it into the microwave, knowing Dad will get himself something while he's out.

I swallow as I remember all the times I used to eat dinner with my mom.

I remember those days…

With a sigh, I pour myself a glass of water and grab my meal out of the microwave seconds before it's done.

I wolf it down in three minutes, a new personal best.

When I get done, I shove the box and the black tray in the trash before washing my glass and spoon, drying them and setting them back in the silverware drawer.

Then I go upstairs and pull out the book I was reading last night.

I had fallen asleep with it open, so I wanted to finish it, so as not to risk a repeat of last night.

When I hear the front door open, I quickly throw my book down, pull the covers up and lay down, pretending to be asleep.

Maybe if I feign sleep, Dad won't call me.

To my intense relief, he doesn't.

I hear him, though, kicking things around and the sound of glass breaking.

But at least it's not me he's hurting.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, this story has been turning out a little different than I thought, but it is still pretty close to How to Train Your Dragon. I hope you all like it anyways! :-)**

* * *

The next day, I wake up and grab my hoodie that I shoved on the floor last night.

I yank it on, along with a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt, then tie my sneakers and am ready to go.

When I walk downstairs, my dad, who is fast asleep on the couch, repulses me; I see a broken alcohol bottle. Completely hung-over, I think in disgust.

Then I head out the door and begin the walk to school.

When I get there, I head straight for first period English.

Gobber isn't even there yet. Feeling like a geek, I take my sketchpad from my bag and begin sketching.

As my classmates file inside in twos and threes, I keep on drawing…I'm just finishing up a quick little sketch of that beautiful girl who read out her assignment yesterday when the book is grabbed roughly from me.

"What the-" at a loss for words, I jerk my head up to see a dark-haired boy teasingly holding the notebook. "Hey, Astrid, look!" he crowed. "This little wimp's gone and drawn you!"

The girl who read out her essay looks up and says, "Snotlout, honestly—

"No, honest!" Snotlout persists. "Look!"

The entire time, I'm fighting to get the sketchbook back, but with little success.

Astrid steps over and says, "Snotlout-

Then she sees he actually said the truth. She grabs the book from the Snotlout and shouts, "When will you respect other people's boundaries, you jerk?!"

She thrusts the notebook at me and I'm at a loss for words.

Astrid still has the book under my nose and I reluctantly lean forward to take it, feeling like a total moron the entire time.

Astrid stalks away without a word. But as Snotlout takes his place beside her, I hear her hiss, "Grow up, Snotlout."

I sigh and protectively cradle my sketchbook.

Gobber walks into the room, oblivious to the recent events, and begins to teach.

After class, I quickly walk out of the room, eager to get out of Astrid's line of vision.

I DON'T want to be near her right now.

When I get to my next class, no one I know from English is there, except for a girl with long, dirty-blonde braids who shoots me a look.

"Loser," she whispers before turning to face the front. She must have heard about the stupid drawing Snotlout decided to broadcast in English.

I sigh and drop my head into my hands, my messy hair spilling over into my hands.

At lunch, I quickly wolf down the school's pathetic excuse for pizza, which tastes like it was made from the cardboard box I'm sure it came in.

As I'm gathering up my stuff and preparing to leave, Astrid gives me a wave.

I don't acknowledge her acknowledgement of me. A pity wave for the loser, that's all it is, I assure myself quickly.

You see, I learned early in life that to think that I could be anything other than the gum stuck to the bottom of the fountain or the ball of lint on the carpet in the school library, it would be getting my hopes up.

The kids at my old school either ignored me or hated me; there was no real middle ground.

So, that's the way it has to be. It's been settled since second grade that I was the freak, the odd one out…

It's the way it has to be.

And I know I won't make any friends here. Why should anyone want to be my friend? I'm a nobody, a loser, and a freak.

I'm not being all 'pity-me' when I say that. It's just the way things are.


	3. Chapter 3

After school, I decide I don't really want to go home.

So I head for the forest by my house. I've walked its trails since I was seven, and I know it like the back of my hand by now. Well, better, actually.

I find a clearing and decide to hunker down in it, maybe draw a little.

But, instead, I see a gigantic black shape there. A clearly-not-happy, I'm-killing-the-first-thing-I-see shape.

I'm scared, but what is it? I can only think of one thing big enough…

A dragon.

You think I'm being funny? Go ahead, laugh.

But the truth is, dragons have attacked this town as long as anyone today can remember.

The attacks have slowed in pace these days, but I still remember years ago, when they attacked all the time…

When they took Mom from me.

Hatred wells up inside me for this beast and I race over to it, no longer afraid but instead, outraged.

The dragon turns to me, then, but it doesn't attack. It doesn't charge.

"What are you waiting for?" I yell at it in frustration. "Go! C'mon, I'm weaponless! I'm the size of a toothpick and I've got all the abilities of one, too! C'mon, you useless reptile, kill me! Kill me, just like your awful species did Mom!"

And I start to cry.

I don't know exactly why I'm crying, but I am, I'm sobbing my heart out and this dragon is just staring at me.

I cry for a long time and all the while I keep thinking surely I will feel that dragon's talons on my chest and warm blood flowing from me, but…nothing.

So I lift my head after awhile and see the dragon watching me with a curious expression on his face.

"What?" I croak unsteadily. I get to my feet shakily and slowly reach out a hand, wanting to touch the glistening black scales of this dragon.

I instantly recognized the breed when I first saw it, so why am I unafraid? Why am I, instead, moving TOWARDS this beast?

I wait and sure enough, the Night Fury growls at me and starts to back away.

I let my hand drop. Not even this useless reptile wants me to be near him.

I sigh and turn to leave the forest clearing. It's a beautiful place but I know if I leave now, I may never see this dragon again.

The dragon backs away slowly, his bright green eyes never leaving my face.

Inch by inch, I watch him go.

I don't want him to leave me, but I know I have no choice. He is a dragon and I am a resident of Berk.

Berk's people and dragons cannot be friends.

And what would the people at school say if they knew I'd seen this Night Fury and did not lunge to kill it?

A Night Fury is the rarest dragon of all. It even trumps Monstrous Nightmares.

I sigh and shake my head. Of course no one will ever know. I'm just Hiccup the Useless, aren't I?

Yeah, that was my nickname at my old school. Apparently I was so stupid, the people at school had to broadcast that fact.

I sigh again and turn to leave the clearing.

Dad's waiting for me at home.

I come into the house and call, "Dad?"

He's staring glassily at the TV set, an empty beer cup in one hand.

I give him a look of revulsion that he doesn't notice.

I don't know if I love my dad or not, but I know that his drinking habit disgusts me.

Dad glances up from the television set. "Hey, kid," he barks at me, "get me another beer."

I go over to the fridge and obediently retrieve another bottle for him. When I bring it back, he snatches it from me, pops it open, and starts guzzling.

I go over to the stairs, hoping he won't notice that my thoughts are elsewhere today.

My thoughts are, in fact, still in the clearing with the Night Fury.

I was weaponless, but he was not. What stopped him from killing me? I wonder to myself.

What stopped him? What stopped me from at least trying to harm him?

I mean…it. He's an 'it'. Most definitely. I mean, he's a dragon. He doesn't have feelings!

I shake my head as I reach my bedroom, push open the door and fall onto the bed.

I grab my sketchbook out of my backpack.

I flip to the last page with a sketch and see the picture of that Astrid girl.

I tear it out and shred it into pieces, sighing. Snotlout was right. That sketch WAS stupid, I think to myself angrily.

Once I've calmed down a bit, I pull out my sketchbook again and begin drawing that dragon I saw today in the clearing.

Of course, it's stupid. What if someone finds this and they see a drawing of a Night Fury?

A Night Fury is nearly impossible to see when it attacks; it charges you so quickly.

But he hadn't attacked me. He'd just stood there and watched me while I cried.

I'd been weaponless, and yet that dragon had not made a single threatening move.

I was astonished when it had happened. I had been expecting cold, merciless claws on my back, raking my shirt…yet nothing had come.

I hadn't felt the warm flow of blood and I had lived through meeting this incredible Night Fury.

I hear glass breaking downstairs and put my pencil away.

I can't draw in my tornado of a house, I think sadly to myself.

I can't even find refuge there.

My house is a house, but it isn't a home.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ok, this is turning out REALLY different from the movie. But it still harbors some qualities from the movie. And thank all of you kind people who reviewed my story: popie92, Saphirabrightscale, VickyT36 and toughcookie27. It really means a lot to me :-)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD. If I did, Hiccup would have way more angst.**

* * *

When I wake up the next morning, it's to hear shouts and screams coming from outside.

I throw on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, lace up my sneakers and run downstairs.

When I get there, I see dragons roaming the yard.

Nadders, Zipplebacks, Gronckles, Nightmares…

Yet the one breed's absence is highly conspicuous.

I watch the dragons pace our lawn and see several other neighbors yelling and screaming and pointing.

Dad hasn't even woken up.

I go over to the first dragon, and, not paying attention to anything but the dragon in front of me, I kneel down, place my hand on her snout and whisper, "It's okay…it's okay, girl."

The dragon is not calmed.

"Hey!" I say firmly. "It's okay. No one's gonna hurt you."

She settles into my touch, getting comfortable.

She tucks up her legs beneath her and allows me to keep touching her snout.

She makes me think of another dragon, one whose snout I was not allowed to touch…

"Oh, come on!" I hear one neighbor shout. Startled, I glance up.

"I could actually kill them better than that!"

The woman is holding a large shotgun. I look up above her and notice dragons are torching the other roofs.

She begins charging the Nadder.

"Okay, girl, go, get out of here!" I say quickly and quietly. "You're in danger. Tell your friends to come with you."

The Nadder already knows, though and is up in the air with her partners in a fraction of a second.

I give them a forlorn wave goodbye, then head back into my own house, determined to let Dad know what happened while he was out.

But then I look over at him and I think, whenever he's asleep, it's peaceful here.

When he's awake, though, he yells and screams and…and hurts me.

I shudder a little, thinking about it, and then I just decide to run a brush through my hair and go back out.

The school bus is going through my neighborhood right about now, so I hurry to catch up with it.

When it comes, I get on it and sit at the very back.

I sit my backpack by my feet, leaving room for anybody who needs a seat.

Needs one. Not wants one. Because nobody will sit with me.

I'm a loser. I'm a nobody. No one wants to sit with me.

And, just as I predicted, it's true. Nobody sits next to me.

Everyone ignores the vacant space beside me and I sigh.

I notice Astrid isn't here today.

Since no one is interested in sitting beside me, clearly, I decide to be as rude as I want and take out a book by Lois Duncan I was reading last night.

I'm almost finished with it and it's really good.

I finish it on the way to school, and, as we pull into the parking lot, I shove it back into my bag, hitch my bag onto my shoulders and head out to face the sharks and piranhas of modern high school.

I head for homeroom and put my head down on my desk.

No one notices. They all keep talking.

Astrid breezes in a few minutes later, a smile on her face, her blue eyes sparkling. Her perfect blue eyes.

Her hair is in a braid and hangs straight down her back, but her bangs are loose and covering her left eye.

I look up at her for as long as I think I can risk it, then look back down at my desk with a sigh.

She sits right in front of me, at her usual spot, and I am fascinated by the little hints of gold in her hair that the sunlight shows.

I quickly shake myself and stare determinedly down at my desk. To think someone like her would EVER like someone like me is crazy.

I mentally scold myself until the homeroom teacher comes in and starts class.

My day goes pretty much the same way any day of my life does. I sit in the back of every class and eat lunch alone, staunchly ignoring the way people keep throwing bits of food at me as I get my tray and silently tell myself it's just a food-fight, even though I know in my heart it's just me.

I hear mutters about 'loser sitting alone' and try to ignore them as best as I can.

I'm still the loser. Nothing has changed.

I try not to focus on Astrid too much, afraid I blew what slim chance I had with her when Snotlout showed her my drawing.

I hear her talking to the girl with the braids just outside English class.

"Cheerleading?" she lets out a laugh. "No way, Ruff! I'm going straight for dragon training!"

"Dragon training?" I repeat to myself, curious.

To my burning embarrassment, Astrid hears me. "Yeah, it's where you're trained to kill dragons. You know, because of all the attacks?"

She gives me a look like 'either-you're-mentally-challenged-or-just-a-space-cadet'.

I think of the Night Fury in the clearing yesterday. "Where do you sign up?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Just so you know, there is some SLIGHT abuse in this story, but it is VERY mild. It begins here and is continued for the rest of the story, but it is very mild. Just wanted to warn you ;-) Thanks for reading! **

* * *

I decide to go to Raven's Point Forest after school again.

If that forest can hide a Night Fury, surely it can house many other interesting things.

I reach the clearing and see the Night Fury isn't there anymore.

I sigh. I'd actually kind of hoped that he would be here today, though why, I don't know.

I hear branches creaking suddenly…like there's a heck of a lot of weight on them.

My curiosity aroused, I sit up a little straighter, head cocked, ears straining to hear the slightest sound…any at all.

There's a silence. I must have imagined it.

But no, wait! There it comes again!

I jump up, leaving my backpack where it is and run towards the sound.

My footsteps pound against the hard ground and cancel out all sound beyond that.

I come to a halt, listening, heart pounding frantically…and there it is!

I make an effort to walk softer, now that I know I'll lose the sound if I don't.

I run towards it again and…

I gasp, astonished.

The Night Fury is all tangled up in the branches of an oak tree.

I stare at it in shock. How did he get up there?

I don't hesitate to think of the dagger I shoved in the pocket of my hoodie this morning when I heard the telltale signs of a dragon attack.

I lift the dagger and raise it over the dragon's dark head, determined to kill him.

But the dragon just looks at me, fear plain in his eyes.

I'm terrified, too, shaking in fact.

And this dragon just stares.

It's a cold, unflinching green-eyed stare, and I cannot back down from it, I can't turn away.

I take a deep breath and drop the dagger on the forest floor.

The dragon didn't attack me, even when I was weak and weaponless.

He deserves the same.

I slowly begin cutting the branches that bind the poor Night Fury and, little by little, the dragon gets free.

When he is, he falls to the earth with a thump.

I sit down next to him. "Hey, bud, you okay?"

Then I mentally slap myself. Why am I so stupid? I've GOT to learn to think before I speak!

Angry with myself, I sigh and say, "Sorry that I considered killing you. I'm not going to now."

The dragon stands up and stares at me, his neck thicker than my own arm.

He opens his mouth, revealing long white teeth that I can easily imagine piercing anyone's flesh.

I wince at the thought and the dragon takes a step back, as though reading my mind.

I stand up and start to walk away, but I hear a noise from the dragon and turn.

He looks at me with his endless green eyes, much like my own.

"Um…hi?" I offer up awkwardly. "I'm…kind of…I need to be home, so if you have something to tell me, make it quick, Night Fury."

He simply stares.

I sigh. "Okay…apparently you're not one for conversations. Okay, well, then, goodbye."

I turn and walk away, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world for trying to talk to a dragon.

And the worst part was, I felt like he could understand me.

But maybe that wasn't all bad.

* * *

When I get home, Dad's waiting for me.

I'm surprised at that, but whatever.

"HICCUP!" He yells, grabbing me by the arms. "What did you do?"

I sigh. "Dad, I went to school, I took a longer way home, I—

"Don't get smart with me!" he boomed angrily. "I know you talked to a dragon!"

"What?" My heart thuds in my chest, thinking of the Night Fury.

"That Deadly Nadder in our front yard! Son, I am ashamed of you! You went out and petted it and you played nice!"

I close my eyes.

"Don't ignore me, Hiccup!" Dad yells, incensed. "You didn't even TRY to kill it!"

I lean against the wall, turning my head away.

Dad keeps carrying on and even hits me once.

I wince at the blows but eventually, he runs out of steam and I'm allowed to go upstairs.

When I get there, I lay down on my bed and start drawing. I draw Astrid again and Snotlout and the girl with the braids who has a twin with hair just like hers, except it's not braided.

Then I draw myself standing with them, and then the Night Fury, his wings curled protectively around us and Dad, who has no alcohol in my drawing.

I wonder why I drew the Night Fury and am tempted to scratch him out but decide against it at the last second.

Then I shut my sketchpad and sleep harder than I've ever slept before.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here's where the OCs come in, but I was wrong in the summary...they ARE named, LOL but I just forgot because they really aren't important to the story at all. **

* * *

After school the next day, I'm about to head home when I remember I signed up for dragon training…and that the first class is today.

So I head over to the Kill Ring, where we'll be practicing.

To my surprise, Gobber appears to be the teacher.

I'm there with about fifteen other teens. The girl with the braids and her twin brother is there, along with Snotlout, an overweight blonde boy, three girls who are a little giggly and fluttery, another girl with hair so blonde it's nearly white. And then I spot two others, a boy and a girl, the boy with brown hair and the girl with black.

Then I notice Astrid.

So I mustn't make a fool of myself. A tall order for me.

Gobber says loudly, "Welcome to dragon training!"

I gulp and interlock my hands.

"Well, as we all know there are six different types of dragons!" Gobber announced in a voice that seemed permanently stuck on top volume. "The Deadly Nadder…"

The overweight blonde, who stood beside me, began rattling off facts. "Speed 8, Armor 16."

"The Hideous Zippleback."

"Plus 11 stealth, times 2!"

"The Monstrous Nightmare," Gobber went on.

"Firepower 15!"

"The Terrible Terror!"

"Attack 8, venom 12!" the blonde boy shrieked.

"CAN YOU STOP THAT?!" Gobber howled. "And…the Gronckle!"

He began to unlock a heavy wooden door and we all exchange uneasy glances.

An emerald-green dragon shoots out of the doors, and begins shooting at all of us in turn.

I hear Braid Girl and her twin get into some meaningless argument and Gobber calls down, "What do you need here?"

"A doctor?" I choke out.

"Plus 5 speed?" the blonde boy asks, terrified.

"A shield!" Astrid replies.

Gobber motions towards a stack of shields in the arena and we all head for them.

The Gronckle eliminates almost everyone but Astrid and I from the first.

He got Braid Girl and her twin because they were fighting.

He got Snotlout, because he was busy flirting with Astrid.

He got the blonde, overweight one (who I think is called 'Fishlegs') because the boy was busy rattling off dragon facts.

But Astrid and I are still in the ring.

She does a few complicated cartwheels to get out of the dragon's way and I stare at her in complete awe.

Astrid is truly amazing, I think, but I find myself paying for that momentary distraction.

The Gronckle sends a blast my way and I duck to avoid getting hit with bits of scorched wood from my shield.

Astrid throws her axe at the Gronckle, causing it to look at her instead, giving me time to get myself upright and prepared for another attack.

The Gronckle is completely absorbed in chasing her now, though.

In a desperate attempt to get his attention away from her, I toss another shield at it.

The Gronckle turns and I thank God that shield was light.

The dragon growls and starts coming closer.

I duck and Gobber comes up behind me, ready to intervene if necessary. I think of the Nadder in my yard yesterday and wonder if the same thing can happen with this beast…

"No, wait, it's okay…" I whisper, reaching out to touch the enraged Gronckle's nose.

I guess I should've thought twice, though, because I WAS just the one who tossed a shield at this thing's head.

So he isn't too pleased with me, I will say.

As a matter of fact, he growls angrily and tries to rip my hand off.

I draw my hand back just in time. "I'm not gonna hurt you!"

The Gronckle doesn't believe me, and sucks in another breath, preparing to finish me off.

I cover my head with my arms and pretend I'm somewhere – anywhere – but here.

Oh, why did I think I could kill dragons anyway?

What, was I thinking of that damn Night Fury?

I wait, but the fire blast doesn't come.

I open my eyes and see Gobber bodily dragging the Gronckle away from me and now bolting the door.

I see a pair of knees bend and a voice says, "You okay?"

"Yeah," I mumble. "I'm fine. I thought for sure I was gonna die, though."

I hear a soft, silvery, beautiful laugh and glance up to see Astrid.

And then my heart ties itself in knots because, try as I might, I cannot form a coherent sentence in front of Astrid.

I give a strangled laugh and she says, "Hey, by the way, thanks for distracting that thing."

"Aw, it was nothing," I say with a careless shrug. "I just wanted you to be safe."

"Hey," she says teasingly and here she gives me a playful punch on the arm, "I can take care of myself. And don't you forget it!"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Ok, here I am again. Thanks to the ones who reviewed my new chapters: mccrazy1980 and Katelin-Sky123 :-) You guys are great! Thank you for taking your time to read and review! **

* * *

Skip over Friday.

Imagine a miserable school day where Snotlout keeps encouraging other students to throw bits of food at you until Gobber stops it.

Imagine the only good thing about today was that Astrid smiled at you and you felt like soaring.

Imagine that. Just for me.

Because Friday was just like that.

Anyway, so…skip to Saturday, if you will.

I'm lying in bed, no responsibilities, no school, no…anything.

Just the day to myself, all daylong.

I decide to head over to Raven's Point and when I do, I spot the dragon in the clearing. I remember taking some raw meat with me…just in case.

I instantly head over to him, curious.

"Alright," I whisper. "I don't know you. Want to leave it that way?"

He lifts his head and begins sniffing me.

I suddenly recall the raw meat and hold out my hand. "Is this what you're after?"

He stares hungrily at it.

"Go on," I say quietly. "It won't bite."

He gives me a look.

"Neither will I," I quickly add.

The idea of me having any bite is, admittedly, laughable.

The dragon keeps staring at the meat.

"Go on," I say again. "C'mon, Fury, eat it. It's not going to kill you."

At the word kill, he backs away, growling.

"Oh, I thought we'd moved past this!" I say in total distress. "C'mon, buddy, I'm not going to hurt you."  
I just hold out my hand, the one with the meat, then hold the other one to his nose.

He hisses and draws away from my empty hand but getting closer to the one with the meat in it.

I hold out the meat, ready to come back with a bloody stump for a hand any second now.

The dragon comes towards me, eyes on the meat, mouth slightly open.

There's nothing in his mouth but pink gums and a tongue.

I stare. "You're toothless?"

He keeps staring at the meat.

I suddenly realize why he isn't eating it yet.

I grab my dagger out of my hoodie pocket and throw it on the ground beside me.

At the expression on his face, though, that isn't enough.

So I use the toe of my sneaker to scrape it up off the ground and toss it in the lake nearby.

The dragon sits up suddenly, a lot more trusting than a few seconds ago.

I hold out the meat.

He opens his mouth again and again, I'm surprised to see pink gums and no teeth.

I could've sworn he had fangs longer than my arm, sharper than a knife, he had to have…

Teeth shoot from his gums and he grabs the meat in one swift motion, gobbling it down quickly.

I draw back, astonished, enthralled and terrified, all at the same time.

He suddenly looks at me, expecting more. I don't have any more.

I scoot against a rock, leaning away from him. "I don't have any more!"

But instead of chewing on me, he spews out a chunk of the meat.

It lands in my lap with a splat, a very wet one.

I stare at it, disgusted.

He clearly wants me to take a bite.

I lift it to my mouth and slowly, reluctantly, take a chomp.

It tastes like…ugh, it tastes like leaves and paint and bricks and dragon spit.

I cringe at the taste but am determined to swallow it.

The Night Fury – who I can now only think of as Toothless, after that spectacle with the teeth – stares as I gulp.

I give him a disgusted smile and he stares at me still, trying to figure something out.

I watch in shock as he imitates me. Oh, God, he's smiling! This dragon is smiling, just like a human, just like a person!

I stare in shock and then slowly, hesitantly, lift a hand, raise a hand to touch the creature.

He growls and flies over to the other side of the lake, where I leave him.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I know I'm REALLY not giving Toothless and Hiccup a whole lot of time together, particularly the scenes where Hiccup is trying the prosthetic tail fin and stuff, but I need to speed it up to make room for some other...things that weren't in the movie.**

* * *

I'm absently making shapes in the dirt, my mind elsewhere. The clouds are tinted pink from the brilliant sunset.

I stare up at them in awe and then go back to my drawing.

I feel Toothless come over to stand beside me, but make no effort to touch him anymore. He can decide when to trust.

He stands beside me, not making any move to communicate, just standing there.

He leaves after a second but he returns holding a tree that he ripped from the ground.

He begins sketching in the dirt, just like me, just like I was doing a second ago.

He finishes up and I stare at his shape, trying to figure out what it is.

I stand up off my rock and see Toothless looking proudly down at it.

I go to take a step closer but see Toothless glare and growl at me.

I take a step back, noticing my sneaker was on the line of his drawing. And now I step over the line and feel a wave of relief when his expression stays neutral.

I slowly put one foot in front of the other, trying to find my way out of his gigantic picture.

One foot in front of the other…one square at a time…one square at a time…

Breathe, Hiccup, I warn myself as the cold wind hits me, making it hard to catch my breath.

The cold wind whips my hair, blowing it into my eyes, but I don't care. **(****No rhyme intended.)**

I like this. I genuinely like this. It gives me peace.

And then I reach the dragon.

Toothless stares down at me, his eyes trying to say something words can't.

And I know, I just know, this is it.

This is the moment.

I raise my hand, reaching out to touch his nose.

He draws away a little, still not totally trusting.

I lower my head, my eyes on my sneakers, my hand still outstretched, waiting for the feeling that I won't get.

But something in me knows Toothless will comply; he won't try to fight anymore.

I wait.

And it comes. Slowly at first, but the dragon nudges my hand, settling into the feeling of my skin.

A feeling rushes through me, some powerful emotion I can't explain.

I feel like…like laughing and crying or both because I look this dragon in the eye and suddenly, I know he is my friend.

When I get home, there's no one there and I sigh, content.

"Home sweet home," I sigh to myself and I fix myself a quick lunch before going back upstairs.

This time, I pull out a book and attempt to read, but thoughts of the dragon in the cove fill my head.

I have a friend! A voice in my head announces happily. I have a friend! I have a friend!

Shut up! Another voice says angrily. You do not! That thing is a killing machine!

I laugh out loud. "I don't care! He's my friend!"

Great. Talking to myself. Just…great.

I sigh and give up the book, then turn to my sketchpad.

I pull out a pencil and sketch Toothless, his nose in my hand, then draw myself, my arm bent to touch the dragon's nose.

I smile at the drawing and tack it up.

The next day, I'm watching Toothless struggle up the steep walls of the cove when it hits me: _that's _why Toothless can't fly! I think to myself.

I'd kind of wondered about that. I mean, why didn't he just fly away?

But then I notice he only has one tail fin. I'd noticed that before, of course, but I'd just assumed that was the way it was supposed to be.

But what if it isn't?

I start working out a solution in my head as I walk home, and when I get there, I begin working.

The next day, I walk to the clearing, bringing a bag of raw meat and my new creation.

I've always kind of been an inventor, so it wasn't too difficult.

It's a tail fin. A prosthetic one that opens and closes and flaps just like a real one should.

I buckle it on him quickly and he spreads his wings slowly. Testing.

I stare at his tail fin for a second, determined to fix ANY mistakes. But there don't seem to be any.

So I stare at it a few seconds longer and suddenly, wind whips my hair and I'm parting company with the ground.

"Whoa!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "Whoa! Toothless!"

He keeps flying crazily, unaware he has a stowaway.

I resign myself to his flight and when he lands again, I crawl away from his tail, willing the world to stop spinning.

Toothless notices me and instantly comes over, flapping his tail fin and making excited moaning sounds.

"I know, bud," I whisper, patting his nose. "I know."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hope you guys all like :-) Anyway, here are some things that didn't happen in the movie, kinda my own modern twist :-) I hope you don't mind it!**

* * *

Over the next few days, I get better at flying Toothless, which basically means I stop clinging onto his tail and climb on his back instead.

I also get better in dragon training, remembering things that worked with Toothless and trying to see if they work on other dragons.

Well, I get better if you ignore how, on the second day of training, Astrid fell on top of me.

Yeah, that was a little uncomfortable.

But…it doesn't matter.

Astrid's a great girl…but she doesn't like me.

So what does it matter?

* * *

Early next Saturday morning, I become aware that my phone is ringing.

It's a call from an unknown number.

I flick it open. "Hello?"

"Hiccup, this is Astrid," an excited, breathless voice on the other end announces.

"How the hell did you get my number?" I demand.

"Hiccup, come quick! There has been a spotting of a Night Fury in the forest by the school!"

I pause, my heart thumping frantically. "And…how does this concern us?"

"We're getting together a party to kill it, of course!"

I stop breathing.

"WAIT! No, Astrid, wait—

Click.

She's hung up on me, I think to myself, insulted.

With no time to lose, I drag myself out the door and down to Raven's Point, scared to death.

"Isn't this exciting?" Astrid breathes happily, pulling the sleeves of her sexy blue sweater down over her arms.

I try not to stare at her. Even with Toothless' life in the balance, it's easy to forget myself in her eyes.

"Astrid, wait! Who else is here?"

"Just me," she says. "The moment I heard, I came rushing down and called Gobber and the others!"

"Astrid…" I grab her shoulders and whisper, "Come with me. Just…for a second, I need to talk to you."

"Okay," she says. She does not appear surprised.

We walk a little ways into the forest.

I begin heading for the cove. "Don't freak out," I warn her quietly. "Don't freak out or start…trying to kill…things when you see this, okay?"

I'm not comfortable here. But Astrid's got to know.

"What's going on, Hiccup?" she asks with a laugh. "C'mon, don't be so mysterious!"

I tug her farther into the forest, praying she'll understand. And then we reach the cove.

All too soon, we reach the cove.

"Astrid…don't freak out, okay?" I peek at her, hoping she'll make this easy on me and shoot me cold glares but she doesn't.

She gives me a warm smile that makes me feel tingly all over, until I remember Toothless.

"Don't freak," I warn her. I glance out at the deserted cove and call, "Toothless!"

He appears as quick as a flash of lightning and licks the side of my face like a puppy.

Shoving visions of furry, black, winged dogs out of my head, I turn to Astrid to see how she is taking all this.

She's just staring at me, eyes wide in shock and horror. "Hiccup…what have you done?"

I swallow nervously, looking at my dragon for support. "Well, you see…Toothless spared my life and I—

"Toothless?" She's shaking her head. Then, eyes bright with anger, she hurls herself at me and begins punching every inch of me she can reach. "This thing is a monster! It doesn't…it's not right! It isn't supposed to have a name, it isn't bred to live in civilized society! HICCUP, YOU ARE CRAZY!"

I cover myself as best I can against her fists. "Astrid! Astrid, augh! Be careful where you punch!"

She sits back, hair messed up, face red.

"Listen," I say, sitting up too. "He's not what you think he is, you know, he's trained and—

"Trained?" Astrid repeated faintly. "Trained?! Hiccup, there's a reason dragons attack us! They're uncivilized monstrosities! They are monsters—

"No," I whisper. "They're not. You don't understand, you don't get it."

Astrid started yelling again. "HOW COULD YOU HAVE MADE FRIENDS WITH ONE OF THOSE MONSTERS—

I put a finger to her lips. "Shh, Astrid."

There's a pause, a brief lull in her tirade.

"Astrid," I begin pleadingly, "You know he's not _really _wild and untamable, right? This dragon, this _incredible _dragon is trained! He's not a killer anymore!"

She backs away, shaking her head. "You are _so _busted!"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing! :-) Please read and review this chapter (or just read).**

* * *

Astrid turns and tries to run away, but I lock my hand on her arm. "You have to give me a chance to explain!"

"I am not listening to _anything _you have to say!" She announces, clearly furious.

"Then I won't speak," I say quickly, desperate. "Just let me show you."

She stares at me, astonished still.

"Astrid…"

She tries to run again.

"ASTRID!" I bolt after her, Toothless on my heels, like some perverse race.

"You. Are. CRAZY!" She hisses loudly, turning and raising her fist again.

"No, Astrid…just let me show you."

"Like hell," she snorts, stomping away.

"Please, Astrid," I whisper desperately.

She turns. "You trained this monster." She sneers out the word 'trained' like she's swearing.

I grab her arm. "Astrid, please. Just give it a chance I…"

"You what?" she snarls, drawing away from me.

To my horror, I find a lump has formed in my throat. "He's my friend. My only friend, actually. Don't…kill him. Please."

I raise my head to look at her again, knowing the reason wasn't enough for her.

She glares at me. "Fine! Just…fine! I won't tell anyone! But if you think for one second I can ignore this…or if I'm expected to get on that thing now or whatever…"

"Oh, no, flying is the best part!" I grin. "He'd never hurt you!"

But I guess I put too much emphasis on the 'you' because Toothless' eyes were narrowed and he was growling.

I sigh. "He won't hurt you," I repeat with a quick glare at the dragon. He'd BETTER not hurt Astrid, I think to myself.

Astrid says, "Oh, yeah, right. A DRAGON wouldn't hurt me!" She's nearly hysterical now.

"I can show you he won't," I whisper, taking her hand.

She stares from me, to the dragon and back again. "Hiccup…"

"I can prove it!" I say, excited now.

Astrid starts shaking her head. "It's not natural. Not for dragons."

"But it feels natural," I whisper. "Like we were born to fly."

"Then God would have given us wings!" she cried but she did not take her hand out of my own.

I slowly bring her hand up to Toothless' nose and watch as he reluctantly lets her touch him after a quick reassuring whisper from me about her being a friend.

"Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid," I say quietly, but neither are listening.

Astrid's entire face changes. Her eyes light up and an exhilarated smile spreads across her face. "Oh, Hiccup…"

Toothless settles into her touch, getting to know her and making sure she's familiar.

"Oh, Hiccup…"

"Amazing, isn't it?" I whisper.

Astrid sighs happily. "Hiccup…this is incredible!"

I smile. "Now will you let me show you?"

She gives me a glowing smile in return.

* * *

We set off happily, her slim, white arms around my waist.

I try not to focus on how hard my heart is beating when she does that.

We ride in silence for about ten, maybe fifteen minutes until Astrid moans, "Hiccup…"

"What?" I ask, a little worried at her sudden change of tone.

"We have to get back! The hunting party will have arrived!"

A sick feeling comes over me as I think I understand her words. "You can't mean give Toothless up, no, no, no…"

"Shh!" She puts a hand over my mouth. "It'll look suspicious if we're not there! I mean, we're both top in dragon training classes! I'll lead them away from Toothless, in completely the opposite direction."

"Okay," I mumble shakily. "Ok."

Suddenly, Toothless starts flying lower, circling an island, very far out to sea.

There are all sorts of dragons on it…

Zipplebacks, Nightmares, Gronckles, Nadders, Terrors…

And there is one dragon, a great, ugly thing with very albino scales, like she's been kept in the dark for a while.

She's roaring angrily at the other dragons, and though I don't speak Dragon, I can tell she's really angry.

"Toothless, why did you…"

"Hiccup," Astrid said curtly. "Look."

Several dragons set off in the direction of our town…oh God.

Oh, God. This is not good. This is NOT good.

And suddenly understanding dawns on me as I watch a Nadder meekly give the giant dragon the meat the Nadder was eating herself.

A Gronckle zooms low, giving half a raw fish for the dragon and the giant, dissatisfied with the Gronckle's share, closes her mighty jaws around the poor dragon.

My stomach churns, watching the scene before me. I grip Toothless' neck very hard, trying not to lose it here.

"What…is that?" Astrid demands softly.

I don't answer.

"Toothless, get us out of here," I whisper frantically and he complies quickly, shoving us off the island so fast the giant dragon nearly notices.

We fly back to our town, the night wind whipping our hair and clothes and I feel like a burden's just been placed on my shoulders.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hope you like! :D Also, Hiccup reveals in this chapter at how bad at acting he is. LOL.**

* * *

Astrid slides off Toothless when he touches the ground. "Hiccup, we need to find that hunting party and stop them from getting any closer to the cove."

"I know," I reply. "Gobber makes more noise than the bombing of Pearl Harbor so I'm pretty sure we'll be able to hear him."

Astrid chortles. "Okay."

When we reach them, they're all forging silently ahead, eyes peeled for my dragon.

This entire thing sickens me.

To think that just a few short weeks ago, I would have gladly led them right to Toothless.

"Guys!" Astrid shouts. "Guys, I saw the Night Fury!"

My heart leaps into my throat and I'm on the verge of yelling at her, but she shoots me a quick wink, letting me know I am still covered. I guess I made more than one friend through meeting Toothless.

I smile at the thought and the others all perk up.

"Really?" Snotlout asks.

Astrid nods.

"Lead on, Astrid," Gobber tells her and she whisks them away to a completely opposite direction.

I feel a wave of relief that Astrid has my back and she's not going to lead them to my dragon.

However, as time goes by and the hunting party loses faith in Astrid, Gobber decides to take a group and lead them a different path.

"So we split up?" I choke out, utterly terrified that the second group will find Toothless.

"Exactly." Gobber says.

"No, I mean…you know all the guidebooks say don't split up in the forest—

"Hiccup," Gobber says, giving me an 'you're-a-moron' look. "I'm a grown man and I'm bringing seven capable teenagers with me. It'll be fine."

"Eight," I say quietly and go over to stand beside him. I silently nod to Astrid, thinking, _I've got Toothless covered over here. Stay with that group. Please._

Astrid nods, having received my silent communication.

Gobber nods, not looking surprised, and he walks away with the rest of us.

My stomach feels like it's made of ice and I can hardly breathe.

But I will lead them away from Toothless. I will do anything I can to lead them away from my best friend.

I swallow, looking around at the others. The blonde boy, Fishlegs, is nervously muttering under his breath all the facts about the Night Fury.

"The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself," he mumbles frantically. "The unholy offspring…"

I tune out again.

Snotlout isn't there, and neither is Braid Girl, but her twin came here, which surprises me.

I mean, her twin and her seemed a little inseparable, no matter how much they fought.

Then I see the girl with the black hair, who introduced herself as Heather, is with the group, too.

She and Astrid don't seem to get along too well.

The girl with the white-blonde hair, whose name is Sylvia, is with us, too.

Gobber forges ahead and I'm so lost in thought, I don't immediately realize it when we reach the cove.

And then Gobber says, "Ah…the dragon is here."

My head snaps up and I see the deserted cove. My mouth goes entirely dry. "How do you know?" I manage to choke out.

Gobber doesn't even look at me. "When you've been in the hunting business as long as I have, you learn to recognize the signs."

Suddenly, there is a flash of leathery, black wings and suddenly I know the only thing I can do is pray to God that Toothless will recognize that these people want to do him harm and stay out of their way.

"There!" Gobber shouts.

Heather pulls a quiver and arrow off her back.

"Wait!" I jump in front of the group. "Don't shoot!"

"Why ever not?" Gobber demands.

"Because…" I swallow. "Do you really think those kinds of weapons will kill a Night Fury? You can't kill one! It's impossible!"

Heather rolls her eyes. "Oh, great, there goes the dragon geek again…"

I try not to feel insulted at what she called me, but I've been called so much worse that 'dragon geek' is almost laughable. "I mean it! Just ask Fishlegs!"

Fishlegs nods. "A Night Fury is very hard to kill and it's strongly discouraged to go out looking for one."

"WE CAN HANDLE ANY TYPE OF DRAGON!" Gobber says.

I sigh. "It's our deaths, then."

Gobber rolls his eyes. "Worrywart."

I roll my eyes and stay next to Gobber at the front of the group.

Suddenly, Toothless shoots out from behind some trees and sees me. Singling me out, he shoots over and pins me down, happily nudging my cheek.

Luckily, the others don't see this. They're all convinced Toothless is about to bite me, or swallow me whole.

I push him up and mutter to him, "Toothless, bud, follow my lead."

Then I shout, "YOU CANNOT KILL ME, YOU HORRID BEAST!"

Then I lower my voice to a whisper. "They're going to come at you with weapons, but they're friends, they mean well, they just don't understand…"

I raise my tone again. "YOU ARE GOING TO DIE BY MY HAND IF IT'S UP TO ME!"

"Toothless, bud, please, don't attack them, they're friends, but they're going to come at you with weapons, it's all okay, they'll set you free, I'll _make _them…"

My voice shakes slightly at the end, but I'm grateful to Toothless for pretending not to hear this.

Then Gobber pulls out a gun and moves forward to shoot the dragon.

"Just let me take you to him," I whisper. "Pretend you're injured."

Toothless immediately sags against me, like he can't hold himself upright.

A smile lifts the corners of my mouth. I have such a clever dragon.

"He's wounded!" I shout. "Don't shoot! I think he's going to come quietly, Gobber!"

"EXCELLENT!" Gobber booms. "Still…you can never be too careful…"

And he pulls the trigger, aimed directly at my dragon's chest.


	12. Chapter 12

**So Chapter 12 is up! :D Hope you guys like. Thanks, Saphirabrightscale for reviewing chapter 11! It really means a lot to me. P.S: Hiccup is an idiot in this chapter. Sorry :P I needed a way to keep the story going.**

* * *

I don't care how it looks. All I care about is leaving Toothless alive.

I shove him over and he sees the bullet and rolls over, avoiding it by inches.

"HICCUP!"

I raise my head as the bullet whizzes past me. "Yes?"

"Why in the world did you push that dragon out of the way?"

"It was instinct, I guess," I reply with a shrug. "I'm sorry. It was instinctive."

Gobber shakes his head. "WHAT am I going to do with you?"

Then he proceeds to put a muzzle on Toothless and tie him up.

My heart tears as I watch, but I can't STOP watching; that's the problem.

I drag myself to a standing position. "What are we going to do with him?"

Gobber glares. "I don't know—

Then he cuts himself off and stares off into space with a glassy-eyed expression. "It is, of course, for Stoick to decide, but I'm thinking of using him for dragon training."

Oh, yeah, Dad's on the Council. That's basically the government for my town. "Dragon training?" I choke out.

My heart tugs. All those other dragons are so scarred, so afraid and abused…

Tears well up in my eyes and I blink them back furiously.

Toothless will _not _become a part of dragon training. Maybe I'm too late to save those other dragons, but I'm not too late to save MY dragon. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

* * *

When we meet up with the other group, I find I can't look Astrid in the eye.

Why didn't I do something else?

I look up at her nervously and find her brow furrowed in sympathy.

She mouths the words, "I'm so sorry."

I shrug and try not to look too miserable. Which is pretty much impossible.

But I don't want Astrid to worry.

Gobber leads us all back and they have a meeting to decide what to do with Toothless.

* * *

"Oh, man, that Night Fury is so going DOWN!" The twin of Braid Girl (who I _think _is Tuffnut) exclaims, making violent gestures with his hands.

"Yeah! I'd love to chop its head off!" Snotlout exclaimed with a laugh.

"Do you hear yourselves?" I shout, unable to stop myself.

"What?" Tuffnut asks, startled out of his fantasy.

"Talking about killing him! He may be a fine, fine dragon! Toothless is a wonderful friend, not a monster!"

But, in my anger, I've given myself away.

Astrid looks horrified and keeps shaking her head.

"Toothless?" Braid Girl echoes. "Who the heck is he?"

"How'd we get from the Night Fury to a Toothless?" Tuffnut demands.

Fishlegs is staring back and forth between me and Astrid. "Oh…you didn't," he whispers.

"I did," I reply grimly.

Astrid shoots me a 'you're-not-being-very-smart-about-this' look.

Fishlegs' eyes widen in sudden understanding. "Oh…Hiccup…"

"What?" Snotlout demands. "What did Hiccup do?"

Fishlegs doesn't speak. He just looks at the others and that's enough.

"You're a freak, Hiccup! Befriending a Night Fury? There's no such thing!" Snotlout shouts, giving me a look of loathing.

Fishlegs keeps staring intently at me. "How?"

"He didn't kill me," I whisper, deciding on the truth but there's something different there, not just our decisions to put the weapons down and talk instead. "And I didn't kill him."

Fishlegs shakes himself a little. "But Night Furies are the unholy offspring—

"That's a myth," I cut in snappily. "That's a myth, Fishlegs, because Toothless is kind and gentle."

"He'd never hurt anyone," Astrid echoes.

I shoot her a grateful look.

Then I turn back to the others. "But listen, guys, you can't tell anyone, okay? _Anyone. _At least not until they decide what to do with Toothless."

At that moment, Dad walks towards us; the meeting has ended.

He's sober for once, I notice bitterly. He cleans up his act on the worst day of my life.

"I cannot begin to describe how proud I am of my son," Dad begins, clapping a meaty hand on my shoulder. "But Gobber has told me that Hiccup helped capture the dragon. Is this true, son?" he asks, turning to me.

I nod silently, hating myself.

Dad beams. "So! Hiccup, we have decided…"

Please, I pray. Please, please, please…

"To let YOU kill the dragon!"

And the worst day of my life suddenly gets a whole lot worse.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks to all you people who have been taking the time to read and/or review this...**

**And, here's chapter 13, just for those wonderful people if they're up for a little drama ;-)?**

* * *

I stare at Dad in horror. "Wh-what?"

Dad laughs. "You get to kill the Night Fury, Hiccup! Be proud, son!"

I plaster a fake smile on my face. "I'm just…shocked, I guess."

Dad hisses in my ear, "Don't embarrass me, Hiccup. That might be a tall order for you."

And just like that, he zaps what little courage I have left and leaves me feeling inadequate again. Just like always.

I bite my lip as he walks away.

Astrid stares at me. "So…what are you gonna do?"

I meet her eyes reluctantly. "Honestly? I have no idea."

* * *

The Kill Ring, where we always practice dragon training, is left empty today.

It's waiting. Waiting for me.

I enter the ring shakily, watching Dad watch me from the crowd.

My hands tremble as I face Toothless, who is standing there calmly, waiting, not attacking.

I have no weapons on me.

It's like we're in the cove again and a smile flits across my face as I think of that day, the decision to leave me alive that this Night Fury made.

I hold out my hand to his nose, and he gladly presses his snout against my hand.

I hear murmurs from the crowd, but I don't look.

I just keep my palm pressed flat against Toothless' nose, because all that matters is that they understand and that Toothless survives this.

"This Night Fury isn't going to attack me," I announce softly. "Because dragons aren't all bad. Dragons can be friends, if only we give them a chance."

I glance up at Dad, tearing my gaze off Toothless for just one second. He's glaring down into the ring, an angry look on his face.

I want to tell him I'm sorry for not being the son he wanted, but there's just been so much hurt on both sides these past fourteen years that I don't want to try anymore.

So I turn back to my one and only friend in this world and whisper, "It's okay, buddy. I don't think they understand. Make it clear you're not going to attack."

Toothless obediently begins nudging my hand playfully and licking my palm.

I smile at him and scratch him under the chin. "This Night Fury is my best friend," I tell the watchers without ever glancing away from Toothless.

"He didn't ever try to kill me, even if the first time we saw each other, I was weaponless. He is kind and gentle and…and a dragon. But his species really doesn't matter when you think about it, because he has been a kind and loyal friend. That's really all that matters, right?"

"Hiccup," a voice from the crowd calls. "That's enough."

Looking around, I see Dad glaring down at me.

Dad and a select few other members of the Council enter the ring.

"Toothless, don't attack," I whisper, pushing him behind me.

Dad stares down at me coldly. "Well? Is it true? That you supposedly befriended this…thing?"

"He's not a thing!" I quickly jump to my dragon's defense, but it doesn't matter; no one will believe me anyway.

Dad stares me down. "I should have known."

"He is not going to hurt you!" I insist.

Dad grabs me by the shoulders and physically shakes me. "Listen to yourself! A DRAGON won't hurt us!"

I think of Astrid in the cove and remember what convinced her.

"Wait, Dad…"

"Take him to the house," Dad intones to Gobber, who grabs me by the collar of my shirt and hauls me away, back to my house.

"Toothless, don't attack!" I shout, fighting Gobber's strong grip as Toothless gets ready to scorch Dad and the other members of the Council.

Toothless gulps back his fireball and stares at me questioningly. Why can't I shoot? He asks me.

I can hear it so clearly but I just shake my head. "They're friends, Toothless…"

Gobber grabs me and says, "Stop speaking to that beast, Hiccup. It can't understand you."

I go completely limp in Gobber's arms, because, try as I might to convince my friends and family otherwise, Toothless will always be an 'it' to them.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: A lot of things happen here that weren't in the movie, but basically it's the same thing of the movie. (Hiccup and Stoick angst)**

* * *

I don't see Toothless again after that.

All I know is I'm up in my room for about two hours until Dad calls me down there.

He looks angry enough to start shaking me again. "Why didn't you use your head, Hiccup?"

"I did," I say to him quietly, because if I keep my temper and state everything calmly Dad just might listen to me.

Dad pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Dragons cannot befriend humans. It simply isn't done."

I stare at him without flinching. I'm not afraid anymore. I'm terrified for Toothless, but Dad can do anything he wants to me and I will not fear for myself. I'm not so afraid anymore.

"I should've known," Dad says. "I should have seen the signs!"

"Dad, please…" I plead weakly, determined to get him to listen. But my father is a stubborn man and I don't think he's going to.

Dad turns on me roughly. "What?"

I've never seen him so angry. "Toothless isn't—

"Don't spout that crap about him being 'kind' and 'gentle'!" Dad sneers. "He is a Night Fury! He is a DRAGON! ALL DRAGONS WILL HURT US HICCUP."

"BUT NOT TOOTHLESS!" I yell back, finally finding my voice and using it. "If you are nice to a dragon, Dad, he will be nice to you right back!"

"DON'T TRY THAT ON ME!" Dad booms. "No, Hiccup, I'm done listening!"

"Dad…"

"Must I remind you that they raid us, attack us, KILL us?" Dad snarls.

"They have to!" I retort angrily. "There's this gigantic dragon on their island and it will eat them if they don't bring enough food back—

"You. Found. The. Nest?" Dad demands in a voice of forced calm.

I try to avoid his piercing gaze. "Did I say nest?"

He grabs me by the shoulders and holds me there. I look up at him unwillingly.

"How did you find it, Hiccup?" he demands, his breath coming rapidly, his words stumbling over one another in their haste to get out. He's shaking me again.

I shake my head. "I didn't, it was all Toothless, _he _found it, only dragons can find the island—

But I've said too much again.

Dad's eyes widen. "Really?"

"It's not what you think!" I say quickly, desperately. "No, Dad, no, it's not, please…"

Dad shoves me aside and I bump against the cold wall, my heart heavy, my head pounding.

I watch him walk away. "No, Dad, it's the biggest thing you've ever seen, you can't win against it!" I tell him desperately.

Dad ignores me.

I can let him walk away now, walk right to his death, but I will not allow that.

I will not allow myself to turn my back on my father, because as much as I hate some things he does, I don't hate him.

Try as I might, I can't hate him.

So I stand there trying to convince him of things he does not know, things he cannot hear, trying to make him understand something he isn't seeing, something he isn't getting.

"Dad…"

And then I think of all the times he has ignored me, all the times he has never listened to me and the desire for him to sit down and LISTEN just this once overwhelms me. He will die if he doesn't, yet he still does not hear me.

"For once in your life, would you please just listen to me?" I shout angrily, grabbing his arm and trying to jerk him backward.

Dad turns and shoves me to the ground.

Then he towers over me, staring angrily down at me, the mistake.

I lift myself up on shaking hands and look at him through a curtain of red hair that has fallen into my eyes. I look at him and I think to myself, _Dad, this is me. Are you going to accept me or hate me? Are you going to love me or not? This is me and I'm waiting for your choice. Take your time, Dad. I've got a while._

Dad glares down at me, long and hard, cold and angry. Hurt passes between us and though it has only been five years since Mom died, it feels like a million.

It feels like much longer than five years that I have lived without being loved, lived without emotion.

I have pretended I have no emotions to show, no love to give to anyone and I'm sick and tired of pretending.

I want my father to live. Is that so wrong? Is that too much to ask?

"You've thrown your lot in with them," he tells me slowly. "You're not my son."

Tears begin to fall down my cheeks and I start crying, I cry as he stares down at me angrily, I cry as he walks away, I cry as he slams the door on me, leaving me in total darkness and I cry when I can't hear his footsteps anymore because I know where he is going, he won't be coming back.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: This chapter is...not my best work :/ Ok, in truth, it has a LOT, and I mean a LOT of Hiccup-Astrid angst. I added some stuff and the angst kind of...well, happened. But the stuff I knew couldn't be improved upon I kept in :-) Thanks again Saphirabrightscale, for your reviews on my story, they really help me keep going and make me smile. :-)**

* * *

I'm lying on my bed, trying to make sense out of all that's happened.

I will not go and watch my dad leave.

I stare sadly up at the ceiling, lost and lonely.

"Why do I try?" I whisper aloud to myself. "Why did I even _try _to do the right thing? It's always blowing up in my face!"

I try to do the right thing, and it always blows up. It always backfires.

And now my father and my best friend are about to die.

My eyes fill with tears I doubt I have the strength to shed.

And after a while, I hear a knock on my door.

I know it can't be Dad. He won't be coming back.

My voice cracks from lack of use. "Go away."

To my surprise, Astrid enters, her footsteps melting into the chaos, the awful, endless, screeching sound inside me.

The sound of heartbreak.

"Go," I say tonelessly.

She sighs. "Hiccup…"

"Go away," I tell her as forcefully as I can. Everything in me is screaming. I need to be alone in my agony.

She kneels beside the bed. "Hiccup?"

"I said go," I tell her quietly. I feel the tightening in my throat and pray she will leave soon.

I want to be alone.

I need to face this pain on my own.

She doesn't talk for a few minutes. "You know what's starting to make me think there's nothing we can do?"

I don't answer.

"You're so hopeless right now," she says quietly. "I'm starting to think it's hopeless, because you never give up. That's the one truth I know and I'm starting to think it's a lie."

Her words do nothing to me. I do not reply to them. I have nothing to say.

I resolutely stare at the wall of my bedroom, the one my bed is pushed up against.

I wish there was something we could do, but surely even Astrid must have realized there's nothing.

"Hiccup," Astrid said tenderly, "put that brilliant mind of yours to work now. Okay? Put that mind of yours to work and actually think. Hope, okay? There's an…emptiness inside of you right now and…and I don't know what's causing it, but I sincerely hope that hole can be filled."

I still do not speak. What is there to say? She's telling me I'm empty. Hollow. And I am. I feel that way.

I exhale slowly, expelling the last of my hope.

Suddenly, I feel warm fingers on my cheek and hot wetness.

With a shock, I realize I've started crying and Astrid's wiping away my tears.

I turn to face her. "Astrid…"

"Shh…" She puts a finger on my lips. "Don't speak…unless you're going to start hoping again."

I take her finger away. "What is there to hope for? Dad's going to die. Toothless is going to die, that monster is going to kill them and…and all the rest…" And I start crying again, not hard, just tears seeping down my cheeks from under my closed lids.

She sighs and says quietly, "Oh, Hiccup…"

"I can't prevent what's going to happen."

"I don't expect you to," she replies.

We lapse into silence again.

She at last says, "You must feel horrible." Thoughtful, pondering. That's how she sounds. Like she's thinking something over.

I don't respond.

"You've lost everything," she continues. "Your father, your town, your best friend…"

"Thank you for summing that up," I say sarcastically, turning to face her.

Then I mutter, "Why didn't I kill Toothless when I found him in the forest? Why didn't he kill me? It would've been better for everyone."

But the last line I don't really believe. I mean, I'm a better person just from knowing Toothless and I never really appreciated the life I had until a dragon taught me how.

He taught me how to live life to the fullest and savor every breath I've got.

Life is a privilege, not a right, I remember thinking one time.

And suddenly I think to myself, Why am I lying here? Why am I not doing _something _just to help?

Just to help my father and Toothless?

"Why didn't you?" Astrid isn't looking at me. She's studying the pattern of my bed sheet.

"I couldn't," I reply slowly.

"That's not an answer," she replies.

I sit up. "Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?"

"Because I want to remember what you say right now," Astrid whispers, her voice intense, her eyes speaking a different kind of emotion than I'm used to.

"What's there to remember? I'm just the first person who wouldn't kill a dragon," I mumble bitterly.

"First to ride one, though," Astrid says quietly, gently.

And I blink suddenly in surprise because I realize it's true.

I look at her, astounded that she realized that when I didn't. "I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was…" I whisper, remembering the fear Toothless' eyes screamed as I held the silver dagger above him. I remember him not killing me and realizing he deserved the same; dragon or human, he deserved to be treated like an equal.

I remember thinking how something inside him that day reminded me of me, and I suddenly realize the truth: I saw myself in him that day.

"I looked at him and I saw myself."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Well, I think this'll be the last one for tonight. :-) The story is drawing to a close, obviously, since there's not much left to do after the battle with the Green Death. Or Red Death, or Purple Death, but I think it's the Green Death. :-P **

* * *

Next thing I know, I've grabbed Astrid's hand and am tugging her downstairs, out the door, into the training ring.

She's staring after me, like I'm deranged or something.

I keep dragging her along, so full of hope there's no room for butterflies in my stomach at the fact that I'm holding her hand.

I tug her along into the Kill Ring, where we practice dragon training and she pulls away, staring at me skeptically. "Hiccup…"

Suddenly, I realize we're not alone.

Snotlout, the twins and Fishlegs are there, too, talking in low voices about something.

Astrid goes over to say something to them and I focus solely on the Nadder as I lead her out of her cage.

At the sight of the others, however, she begins to roar angrily, jerking away from my touch.

I place a hand on the end of her nose in an attempt to calm her.

"Hey, it's ok," I say soothingly, rubbing her snout. "It's okay. Just focus on me."

The Nadder nervously eyes the others.

"Hey," I say gently. "Eyes on me, remember?"

The Nadder seems to understand, because she shifts her attention back to me.

"Astrid…" I whisper, reaching over for her hand. "Remember the last time? We're gonna do that again. Just like last time."

Astrid lets me take her hand and place it on the Nadder's nose, and I take my own hand off.

Astrid lets out a silvery, beautiful laugh and smiles at me.

I smile back and say, "Maybe she'll…let us ride her. Maybe."

Astrid nods excitedly.

"All we need is to get to the nest," I relate to her in a whisper. I don't trust the others. They can't be hearing this.

Astrid looks over at them. "What about them?"

"Well, they never saw anything," I tell her quietly.

"No, I mean…Hiccup, they want to help."

My brain isn't ready for this information. "What?" Is my brilliant reply.

Astrid nods. "I just came over to talk to them and you know…tell them some stuff…"

Her voice gets stronger. "And Fishlegs said he believes you, he honestly believes you."

"So, what's the plan?" Fishlegs demands, coming up behind Astrid and I.

I jump a little. So Astrid _was _telling the truth, I realize nervously. I have no idea what to do about Fishlegs, but the more reasonable part of my brain insists that I need all the help I can get.

I turn to him. "You're about to learn the way to ride a Gronckle."

Fishlegs is quickly followed by Snotlout and the twins.

I relate the plan to them as quickly as I can.

The boy twin looks terrified. "You're insane!"

"I like that," the girl says flirtatiously, leaning towards me.

I stay away from her after that as I explain my idea.

They all nod, ready to do whatever it takes.

And suddenly I realize that these people genuinely want to fight alongside me. This is more than friendship – that these people are willing to lay down their lives to help…well, that says a lot.

Five pairs of eyes stare at me as I go over to a bin of rope.

"What are you doing?" Snotlout demands.

"You're gonna need something to help you hold on," I tell him, handing each of the others a rope.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Ok, I'm almost finished. I've finished the entire fanfiction, but I'm not going to post the rest tonight or something lol XP I don't want to bombard my poor readers!**

* * *

I'm riding the Nadder through the blue, blue sky.

I spot the awful dragon with her albino scales and the Nadder, upon seeing her master, blasts a fireball that engulfs us all momentarily.

The giant dragon turns her pale head and stares directly at us.

Eyes on either side of its head, I notice.

I whisper, "Pull me closer…please."

The Nadder complies.

I tentatively lean towards the great, ivory beast and hold out my hand near its nose.

It's a half-hearted attempt, because I don't truly believe this thing can be trained.

But if it can, I want to know.

I slowly inch forward, standing up on the Nadder's back now. I glance nervously down at the dragon, expecting her to be in pain, but she's tougher than I thought. She doesn't even flinch.

I reach out to touch the dragon queen, who attempts to blast a fireball at us.

The Nadder swerves away just in time.

"Ok!" I hiss to Astrid, who is behind me, her arms clutched tight around my waist. "Ok, so the ordinary calming won't work on this one…"

Astrid rolls her eyes. "I told you it wouldn't."

I ignore this and instead eye the dragon again. "Okay, girl…let's get a little closer and see…"

The Nadder flies me closer.

"Fishlegs, break it down," I tell him and he calls over, "Ok, heavily armored skull and tail made for bashing and crushing! Steer clear of both! Small eyes, large nostrils, relies on hearing and smell!"

"Ok, 'Lout, 'Legs, hang in its blind spot, make some noise. Keep it confused."

I call to the twins, "Ruff, Tuff, find out if it has a shot limit! Make it mad!"

I hear them talk excitedly as the Nadder turns sharply away and leads me to a spot on the island where I see my dragon.

My heart breaks again as I see he has a muzzle on him.

I quickly get the Nadder to land and unfasten it.

"Go help the others!" I tell Astrid quickly.

She nods and flies away on the dragon's back.

I quickly begin hacking at Toothless' chains and the dragon queen stomps her way toward us, her large bulk making her slow.

I immediately begin calculating the advantage her bad maneuvering will give us, but I stop quickly as she kicks, literally kicks, at Toothless and I with enough force to send both of us sprawling.

I tumble headfirst into the water, Toothless by my side.

I quickly begin working at his binds again, frantic now.

Toothless is staring at me intently, clearly trying to say something.

But what?

At last, my lungs give one, final, desperate burn for air, and everything starts going black.

I feel my grip on Toothless' chains slacken suddenly.

I fight to keep myself alive, because I don't want to die this way.

Toothless can't die.

I struggle to keep holding on and I hear four words, like a whisper in my head: _You're my best friend._

The words do not come from my mouth.

I use the last of my strength to look around for whoever said that, then black spots overtake my vision and my head pounds.

Suddenly, strong arms are around my waist, tugging me to the surface. There's a dim, green light there. Air awaits me.

I can't see anything, but I dimly register that there was _something _important, something way more important than my own desire for air.

I try to spot who is holding me, but I can't.

Air is suddenly around me, and I suck it in frantically, stinging my face, wet with more than just water.

I gasp like my life depends on it and a large shape tows me to shore.

When I reach the beach, grit under my palms, I spit out a considerable amount of water and watch the dark shape charge toward the sea again, taking a long, deep breath as it does so.

I blink a few times and I find Toothless, holding the shape in his claws.

I stare in shock. Why did GOBBER save me?

Gobber is dropped onto the gritty sand too and Toothless shakes himself off like a dog and looks to me.

I suddenly understand that it was Toothless who told me I was his best friend.

I blink in surprise, because I completely did NOT see that one coming.

I jump up and turn to Gobber. "Gobber…"

There's a long silence. "Thank you."

On sudden impulse, I throw my arms around him. "Gobber…thank you so much."

Gobber pushes me away and gives me what I surmise is supposed to be an affectionate punch on the shoulder but actually makes me feel like my shoulder has just been fractured.

I wince and rub my hand up and down my upper arm and give him a smile.

Then I run over to Toothless.

"Wait, Hiccup…"

I look around at Gobber again.

"Tell me you're not going up there."

"The others could die."

"And so could you."

I stare at him. "That doesn't matter. I just want them to survive."

"You don't have to—

"I know I don't _have_ to. I _want _to."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Well, I hope you all like :-) I'm FINISHED with this fanfiction, so now I may focus on my newest one :-)**

* * *

Gobber releases my hand and I climb on top of Toothless, who takes off into the sky without hesitating.

He turns sharply and we come face-to-face with the dragon queen, who looks agitated.

I stare at her for a second, my eyes taking in every inch of this dragon's body, mentally memorizing her wingspan, thinking of where to attack first.

I slowly inch forward on Toothless, staring.

Astrid pulls up beside me. "Hiccup, what are you doing? She'll blast you to bits!"

"I don't care!" I call out. "Give me a second!"

"This thing has wings," I mutter to Toothless. "Reckon it can fly?"

Toothless nudges my hand with his head and suddenly I can see this thing flying easily.

I shudder at the thought and wonder where the image came from.

I shake my head and say, "Okay…assuming it _can _fly, let's try to get it off the ground!"

Toothless nods happily and we dive around and around the dragon queen, making sure to get her attention.

She reaches up with her nasty looking tail and tries to swat me off Toothless' back.

I duck and Toothless pulls us into another dive, even though the sky looks safer.

Then he pulls us upward again without hesitation, around and around the gigantic dragon's head, annoying her.

I smile, realizing his idea and quickly go along with it, urging him to fly faster.

We shoot up into the cover of low-hanging, gray clouds.

"Ok, Toothless, give us some light," I pant. "Quick."

Toothless shoots a quick fire blast and it barely penetrates the thick fog of clouds.

The dragon queen shoots back up into the air, her wings working furiously.

We swoop around her head, practically reading each other's minds, my hand on his head.

He quickly begins nudging my hand again, lurking out of sight.

And suddenly I'm in a different place, a different time. I see a Terrible Terror. I'm staring him down; I'm much bigger than he is.

He's making that odd whistling noise I've come to associate with a Terror's fire blast.

But before he can, I shoot a blue fireball into his mouth. It inflates him immediately and he blows up like a balloon.

I suddenly recoil in shock, taking my fingers off his head momentarily.

"Toothless, bud…"

_He was putting images inside my mind._

Unbelievable.

But I look at the dragon queen and get what my dragon is trying to say.

"C'mon, bud," I whisper. "Let's do this thing."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Drama :D **

* * *

Toothless and I quickly begin leading the dragon queen on a wild goose chase.

The dragon queen follows us easily, just a few paces behind us, sending fire blast after fire blast at Toothless' tail.

I'm nervous because if the dragon queen is clever enough to figure out that Toothless has a fake tail, we're pretty much screwed.

I rub Toothless' head soothingly. "It's okay…start building up a blast, bud…"

He complies; I feel his jaw muscles stretching as he does.

The dragon queen prepares for another blast; I hear her fire building up.

"Hold, Toothless…" I say quietly.

Then, when I feel unpleasant heat all around me, I shout, "Now!"

Toothless swoops around and shoots straight into the dragon's mouth.

The dragon looks mystified, like she's never seen this trick before.

The fire ignites the gas, creating an explosion in the back of that dragon queen's throat.

My face stretches into a taut smile as I watch, the dragon heading fast toward the ground.

I look down and see people watching me, mouths open, eyes wide in terror.

Terror for me or terror of the queen? I'm guessing just plain terror of that dragon.

The dragon queen lands on the ground, erupting into a fiery, smoldering ball.

I throw my hands up in triumph as I watch, elation running through me.

I can't believe my dragon and I pulled it off, but we did!

But that was before I felt myself falling.

I was falling in slow motion, like they do in movies to create drama. Except this wasn't some sort of action, dramatic film. This was real life. And my life was about to end.

My first thought is for myself; I'm going to die.

That's too bad, I think, perfectly calm. It's only disappointment in me now.

I genuinely want to live, I realize. There's a reason for me to keep on living now, when before there wasn't.

I have Toothless now. I have a friend in this incredible Night Fury and no matter where I have to go or what I have to do, I am not leaving my dragon's side.

Heat surrounds me from all sides; I gasp for air, to no avail.

Smoke fills my lungs instead.

I'm coughing as blackness threatens to overwhelm me.

And after it does, I hear voices calling my name.

"Hiccup!"

"Hiccup!"

"Oh, my god, is he okay?"

"HICCUP YOU CANNOT DIE! DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME!"

There are tears in Astrid's voice, I realize with a slight shock.

There's silence, apart from some quiet sobs on Astrid's part.

I numbly reach out my hand for her. I feel her fingers, still and cold, and give them a squeeze.

"Astrid…"

Astrid breaks away and stares at me.

I'm uncomfortably hot and my leg burns, but so long as everyone else is okay, I'm okay, too.

"HE'S ALIVE!"

I detect joyful shouts and struggle to understand their happiness.

It's just me.

No one has ever been happy that I'm alive; they're too busy wishing I were never born.

So I'm having trouble getting why they're so happy about me being alive.

Exhaustion engulfs me and I close my eyes, letting myself sleep.

Everyone seems to be okay. And against some exposed and burning skin on my back, I feel cool scales and know my dragon is beside me.

It's all okay, I think before drifting off.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Also, Hiccup is in the hospital. I know I made this unclear, LOL. **

* * *

I awake to the sound of many voices.

A positive babble of them, all standing around me.

I struggle to open my eyes and see Toothless standing there amidst them all.

He bounds over to me and begins affectionately licking my cheek.

I smile, content to be with just him.

But his eagerness draws some other people's attention and before you know it, a crowd has formed around my bed.

With a sigh, I resist the urge to cover my head.

I fight the need to sleep again and put a weak smile on my face. "What is everyone doing here?"

What ARE they doing here?

And…oh, my gosh, WHAT is Toothless doing, standing calmly around?

My heart pounds in fear for my dragon, but no one makes any threatening moves and he doesn't try to incinerate anyone, which I take to be a good sign.

The twins rush over and each of them energetically shake my hand and give me swift punches on both shoulders.

"Hey, take it easy," Gobber says, chuckling. "The kid's probably feeling awful!"

I chuckle a little, too. "Well, thanks to those two, my shoulders are now throbbing."

The twins have the grace to look ashamed of themselves.

I give them a quick smile. "It was a joke. I'm fine."

They stand off to the side while Snotlout steps up to my bed. "Dude…"

"Yeah?" I give him a look.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks, 'Lout." I offer him a quick smile.

He gives me one in return, along with a punch on the arm.

"What is _with _you people?" I ask irritably and Snotlout grins a little before going over to the twins.

Fishlegs places a hand on my arm. "I'm glad you survived."

I blink. How pathetic is it that that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me?

I shake my head a little, hoping to clear it. "Thanks, 'Legs."

Fishlegs nods.

Gobber comes over to me and ruffles my hair. "Hiccup…"

"Hey, where's Dad?" I ask, looking around eagerly for my father.

A sudden hush falls around the room.

"Hiccup…" Gobber moans.

I stare around at them all.

"It's a long story," Gobber says quickly.

"_What happened to my dad?"_

There's no response.

Gobber attempts to cheerfully change the subject. "Um…you're getting really—

"I want to know where Dad is!"

Gobber says quietly, kneeling down so we're eye level, "Please just wait."

I sense the sincerity in his voice and know he is not trying to shelter me.

I give a grudging nod and Gobber stands back up and says, "And Hiccup, before you go back to sleep, there's…there's something you should know…"


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Ok, I am endlessly cruel to Hiccup, at least in this chapter. XD But being cruel to him is fun and it creates drama, LOL.**

* * *

"Okay," I say quietly. "What is it?"

I'm prepared for the worst.

Gobber says, "Hiccup…have you…looked at your…er…lower half?"

"No…" I reply curiously. "Why?"

Gobber exchanges glances with the teens. "Maybe…"

"Gobber?"

Gobber reaches for the blanket and lifts it up slowly.

I gasp in shock.

One sneaker is still there…but the other shoe and pant leg is…empty.

I bite my lip and raise my head to look at Gobber. "At least I'm alive."

I give a shaky laugh and say quietly, "This is exactly what I'd anticipated. I NEVER thought I'd make it out unscathed."

Gobber looks at me. "You're a very brave boy. Please don't put on a false bravado, Hiccup."

I shake my head. "This is what I expected, more or less. If I had been upset by the prospect, I would have stayed on the ground yesterday, okay?"

Suddenly, I realize by Gobber's meaningful look at me that the fight with the dragon wasn't yesterday.

"Um…what day is it?"

"It's Saturday."

"Whoa! I woke up on the same—?"

"It's been almost six weeks."

I fall back down against the pillow in complete shock. "Wow."

Gobber nods somberly. "Hiccup…"

I gently push his hands away. "I don't need you."

I realize just how ungrateful it sounds, but I don't rush to correct it. I need to do this on my own.

So I shove my hair back from my sweaty face and lean on the bedpost.

Pain shoots through my leg and I sway on the spot.

Gobber leans forward to help me, but I wave his hand away and take a tentative step forward.

I stumble suddenly and start falling again.

Toothless leans out and catches me.

I hold onto his neck, wondering if these people think any less of me for depending on someone else.

Toothless helps me to the door.

I sigh and lean against it.

Astrid comes up, instantly parting the crowd.

Then she punches my shoulder, hard.

I wince and shout, "What is _with _you, Astrid?! I mean, you punch me ALL the time, is it always gonna be like this? Cuz I—

She suddenly grabs me by the collar of my shirt and kisses me, crushing her lips against mine.

I hastily deepen the kiss, running my tongue across her teeth.

She pulls away and gives me 'how's-that-for-violence?' look and I find myself strangely breathless.

She's beautiful, I think silently, awestruck.

And in that instant, I know I'm in love with her.

Completely, madly, impossibly in love with the girl standing in front of me, whom I had never imagined would ever kiss me.

Then I turn to Gobber, trying to get my bearings back.

The hoots from the crowd are NOT helping.

I blink and say quietly, "One more thing."

"Anything," Gobber promises solemnly.

"Where _is _my father?"

* * *

The room is empty, save for Gobber and me.

Dad enters the room, arms folded.

I turn to face him, our last conversation ringing in my ears. "Hi, Dad."

Dad glares at me. "I have nothing more to say to you."

I sigh, instantly banishing the idea of a dad who loves me. I blink away tears.

"Dad…"

"I have nothing more to say to you anymore. You're not my son."

I take a step back, hastily wiping my eyes. I should have expected this. So why am I astonished by how badly it hurts?

"I—

"You're a reject," Dad hisses.

I back away from him slowly. "I…I don't…"

"Stoick, stop being so harsh," Gobber cuts in.

Dad turns angrily on him. "What? I made it clear he isn't my son anymore! No son of mine trains dragons, no son of mine is a…a freak!"

I turn and start running.


	22. Chapter 22

I run all the way to Raven's Point Forest, then cover my face with my hands and start crying.

I sob quietly, trying not to lose it completely because I know that's a mistake.

I hear a moaning sound and something nudges my side gently.

Opening my eyes and taking my hands away from my face, I see Toothless standing there, curiosity in his expression, eyes wide.

I lay my hand on his head and say quietly, "Hey, bud."

Toothless nudges my hand and I hear the words, "Why are you sad, Hiccup?" echoing in my head.

"How do you do that?" I ask, because it's easier than answering his question.

He nudges my hand again and I hear his voice in my head, "I'm not really sure. I think it might have something to do with our bond, because the world has never seen a friendship stronger than ours. It's like a connection between minds."

Toothless sighs. Very human-like. Then he looks expectantly at me again, like I haven't answered his question. He presses his nose into my hand. "Why are you so upset?" I hear him ask.

I sigh and take my hand off his nose. "It's complicated, bud."

Toothless impatiently clicks his tongue and I find tears building up in my eyes again as I remember the real reason I came here.

I sigh. "It's no big deal." My voice shakes slightly on the last line, though, and, suddenly, I collapse against my dragon, sobbing my heart out.

"Toothless…he disowned me," I choke out, my voice breaking slightly. "Toothless, Dad disowned me and…I kind of _hoped _he'd have changed his mind about me…and dragons...after…after…"

Another fresh wave of tears overtakes me and I bury my face in my hands, feeling like I've just been ripped in two. "Toothless, I just…I can't do this."

Toothless nudges me with his nose. I rest one of my hands on his snout and hear the words, "It's gonna be okay, Hiccup. I promise."

I gulp back more tears. I wish Toothless didn't have to see me like this. "I'm sorry, bud, I should be…"

My voice trembles again and I fight the tears back.

I mentally add the three words, _stronger than this._

I hear three more words in my head, contradicting the last. "You are strong."

A pause. "You're the strongest person I know."

I offer a weak smile. It's the best I can do. "Thanks, bud."

* * *

After being discharged from the hospital, Dad and I reach a shaky agreement that I can live still live in his house, but Toothless isn't allowed there. I predict a lot of sleeping in the cove for me.

I take a few days (ok, more like two weeks) off school, then quickly get up early one morning and pull on some clean clothes.

I wait for the bus to show up in my neighborhood. My leg doesn't feel up to walking today.

When I get to school, I keep my eyes on the floor, reminding myself that killing an enormous dragon really doesn't change anything.

I'm pretty sure I'm still doomed to be the friendless freak of high school.

But Astrid comes right over the moment she sees me, and my heart lifts a little. At least I made one friend throughout this whole mess...and...maybe she's something more.

Astrid greets me with a punch on the shoulder and a smile.

I rub my arm. "Do you have to do that?"  
She grins at me. "Yep."

I sigh and decide her violent tendencies really aren't that bad, a feeling that grows stronger when she leans up and kisses my cheek.

I smile at the floor tiles.

She slides her hand in mine and we walk to class together.

When we reach Gobber's class, he gives me a look that I can't read, but I sense he disapproves of something.

I nervously wonder what.

When it's time for lunch, I sit at my usual table, hoping Astrid might come join me.

Instead, she comes over to the table, leading four others.

The twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs all fight for seats beside me, asking me questions and talking excitedly.

I numbly feel my sandwich slide out of my fingers and stare at them all in shock.

Do these people…actually _want _to be near me?

This must be what it feels like…to have friends.

I jerk back to reality to hear Snotlout boasting.

I turn to Astrid, grinning, and mouth, _Save me._

__But she already has. Toothless and Astrid have saved me.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: **

**Dear Readers and Reviewers,**

**I know you guys have been asking for a few weeks if there is going to any more chapters, and the answer is no. If the status on my story reads 'complete' then it is. It doesn't matter if I don't state it is the end, it's still complete in my eyes. However, I DID write a sequel weeks ago for this story, and it's called "Lie to Me". Please read that if you're interested, though I feel it isn't as good as this one. Thank you for your support, and to answer that question one last time, this story is definitely over!**

**Thanks all,**

** .ryder.**


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